Advantages

Disadvantages

Thanks for Reading :)

I have had this calculator for many years now, I remember I carrying this with me throughout my time studying GSCE, and A levels, I even took it with me to University just in case I needed it, however studying Psychology meant the calculator stayed in my bag most of the time.

==PRICE==

This calculator is really cheaply priced compared to other scientific calculators;

Amazon has it for sale for around £7.00

Play.com £10.99

Euroffice £7.50

Supplies Group: £9.42

It's worth noting the shipping costs, as some online stores have a hefty postage & packaging price. I am sure that it can be found at high street stores, it is worth shopping around.

==FUNCTIONS & USE==

This calculator is packed with features that any mathematician would find very useful, it is perfect for GCSCE maths, AS & A level maths and of course even university courses that require math calculations. The features such as fraction displays are extremely useful, for example the Casio display is perfectly sized so that it can display full fractions, making it incredibly easy to type in equations or algebra type fractions. I personally use to find it really frustrating before using this calculator and having to input each bracket to make equations etc; it was quite time consuming and can be a hindrance during exam conditions.

I know there are those out there that prefer to view fractions as a decimal answer, and thankfully this calculator can easily switch from fraction display mode into decimal view mode by tap of a button.

I personally like the idea of the use of the shift and alpha buttons located near the top of the calculator. This makes the calculator a lot easier to use and not too overwhelming or overloaded with unnecessary buttons, it impressively allows a few buttons to have more than just one function. This is a lot like having a shift key on a key computer keyboard and pressing that with the 1 key allows for the exclamation mark to be used.

The calculator is also useful when dealing with radians, degrees/gradians, statistics, and trigonometry; however I am not that clued up on these areas so I have not used these functions that much really explain the jargon correctly, however when calculating degrees and angles and some statistics I did find it very useful.

==DESIGN==

The use of the navigational buttons located on the top of the calculator makes correcting equations or simply tracking back through a long equation really simple and useful, there were many times when I had to go track back through a really long equation or input and found this function to be a life saver. The memory function is simply brilliant, it allows up to 7 calculations to be stored in the system, and with a press of button it can retrack back to the previous calculations used.

This calculator is really top notch; I have never had any issues with lag or delays when inputting data or when getting answers. I personally love the overall design of the calculator; the colour coded buttons themselves are large enough for both skinny and bigger fingers to skim through. The buttons are organised into similar function groups making them easy to find and easily accessible.

I found that the processer is highly efficient, as answers are swiftly given which is a must during exam conditions. The screen display is sized perfectly, allowing plenty of room for long inputted data to view clearly.

Here is a useful summary I found on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Casio-FX-83-Calculator-Electronics/dp/B0009RPBDU that I thought would be useful:

Features:

Enter expression as written in text book.

260 Functions.

Prime fractionisation.

Recurring Decimal.

Verify Expression.

Easy Menu function.

Fraction calculations.

Multi-reply function.

Trigonometric functions.Random Integer.

Technical Specifications:

Weight (g) : 110.

Natural Textbook Display : Yes.

Keystages Suitable For : 3, 4, & above.

Suitable for (ages) : 11 plus.

Battery Life : 17,000 hours continuous display of cursor.

Display : TwinLine LCD DOT MATRIX.

Keyboard material : Plastic.

No of functions : 252.

Mantissa + EXP : 10+2.

Case : Slide-on.

Memories : 9.

Parentheses : 24.

Physical constants : No.

Multi-replay : Yes.

Reset : Yes.

Degrees : Yes.

Radians : Yes.

Gradians : Yes.

% : Yes.

Fractions : Yes.

Trigonometrics (SIN/COS/TAN) : Yes.

Logarithm : Yes.

Exponents : Yes.

Reciprocals : Yes.

Degrees/minutes/seconds : Yes.

exponential regression : Yes.

Negative Indicator : Yes.

Hyperbolics : Yes.

Table of a function : Yes

Engineering Symbol Calculations : No.

Expression editing : Yes.

Backspace/delete : Yes.

FIX/SCI/NORM : Yes.

Logic Operations : No.

DEC/HEX/BIN/OCT conversions : No.

square root : Yes

Numeric Differentiation : No.

Numeric integration : No.

Formula Solver : No.

Equation Solver : No.

Auto power off : Yes.

==CONLCUSION==

For the price this is a great choice for GCSE and A level maths, as well as University courses. It has a great number of features and is overall a really well designed calculator. With a simple read of the instructions anyone would find using this calculator very simple and straightforward to use. Overall I can not really fault this item and would highly recommend it : )

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A perfect calculator for anyone!

I bought this calculator from my college when I started to do my a levels, I needed a calculator that could cope with advanced maths and this was the one my college recommended. This calculator also served me throughout my university years (4 years) so I can definitely say that I have experience with this calculator and can give an honest opinion on it.

It looks really quite good, i understand that calculators aren't exactly the height of fashion, but I think it's nice to have one that looks good. This one looks really modern with a grey snap on case and sleek grey plastic casing on the actual calculator. It doesn't look at all brick like and '70's' . It is very slim and light and the case slides on extremely easily without sticking at all.

The buttons are colour coded which makes this calculator even easier to use!! Cancel/delete are red whilst all the options/menu/control buttons are in blue. The numbers and basic functions (Add, subtract etc) are in dark black whilst more advanced functions (Trig, log, square root etc) are smaller and in a dark shade of blue. This makes it really easy to quickly find the button you are looking for if you are in a hurry and I have found it really helpful in my exams. The buttons are also all clearly labelled including the shift/alpha alternatives.

This calculator has the perfect balance between being simple and easy to use, and having advanced maths features. It does come with an instruction manual but I have found, and my maths teacher always used to say that the best way to learn to use your calculator is to repeatedly use it and then you will understand how to use it to it's full potential.

It has a really handy function which i hadn't seen on a calculator before I got this one, it's called the replay function. It allows you to work back through a calculation if something goes wrong so you can see where you made a mistake. It stores 10 of your previous commands without you having to save them yourself, and comes equipped with 7 memory slots which should be more than enough for most students (it was for me). The calculator automatically expresses the answer in either fraction or square root form which means the accuracy is always of the highest order. Some people don't like this however and, if you don't, then you can change it at the click of a button, it's that simple!

I should also mention that these labels don't fade, I have had this calculator for 6 and a half years and I have been using it very often as i did maths and further maths a level and a maths degree and i have not had any problems with the labels fading.

I think this calculator is brilliant, if you wish, you can get a solar powered version of this calculator for the planet conscious amongst us. This calculator is perfect and can deal with pretty much everything that I need it to, it is simple, easy to use and lasts for ages. It is appropriate for high school students of university students, as it is very acuurate but not too daunting for younger users who see a huge number with many decimal places on the screen and immediately think - 'aaaaah'!! I would really recommend this calculator to anyone.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

An essential for anybody who deals with complex maths in their lives

Casio are the indisputable king of student calculators. Their interface is both simple and powerful. I have been using this model from my Key Stage 3 days up to my current A2 Mathematics days and will continue to use this well into my university years.

First off, the design. Its is incredibly thin and sleek even with the cover slid on the back of it. It easily fits into any pencil case or bag and is very lightweight to carry around with you all day.

Considering it can be in a bag which is getting constantly moved around for maybe 8 hours every day, it needs to be robust. It definitely is robust! In my 5 or 6 years of owning this calculator it still functions as good as the day I purchased it. The battery is still going strong too, it has never been replaced and shows no signs of running out any time soon either.

Even though I am currently studying for A2 maths exams (writing these reviews may be a bit of procrastination) I still have not unlocked the true potential of the calculator. Although I now know the majority of the keys on the calculator and how they work, there is always more to learn about what it can truly do once you start navigating through all of the menus. If you really do know how to use this calculator, there is very little mathematics knowledge that you actually need to get an answer, in some cases you can even enter an entire A-Level question into it and you will gain the correct answer.

This calculator is definitely to be used by anybody studying a scientific or mathematical subject or by those who frequently come across complex equations in their work as the powerful input mechanism of this calculator is far superior than any I have ever found before.

I used to have an older model of this Casio calculator before I received this one and have noticed that they only keep improving. Therefore if you had a Casio in the past and were not convinced by them, get a later model ass see what you are missing out on!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Good calculator.

I was given this calculator free at a conference for maths teachers and was delighted with the gift. I've had it for at least three years now and its still going strong with daily use (including the odd lend to a pupil).

As a scientific calculator, it has all the functions you would expect including powers and roots, trig functions, fraction keys, &#960; and follows the mathematical standard BODMAS rules for calculation. It also allows you to easily swap between the different measures of angles and displays on screen which measure you are using. It will also give answers in a selected format either exact values (including surds and fractions) or decimals. You can set the calculator to one of these but also swap between options by the use of one button.

From my perspective as a maths teacher, I recommend this calculator to pupils because of the following strengths:* Calculations, including applying a trig function, are input in the same order that they are written in class work and exams (this is not true of all calculators.* The description on buttons are very clear and again are similar to what would be used in written work. In my experience, most pupils can navigate their way around this keyboard with less support than other calculator makes.* The navigation button in the middle allows for checking of work where an incorrect working is obtained so pupils can see any keying errors.

The one drawback that this calculator has is that it can change its setting if left loose in your bag. This can be easily rectified by using the reset key or changing the mode but can be off putting and lead to potential errors if not checked.

From a teaching perspective it comes with good support. I have purchased a piece of software that allows me to project they keyboard onto the smart screen so allowing me to walk pupils through any calculations being done for the first time.

Overall I would say this is a great wee calculator which will see any child through their high school maths career.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A great calculator that will last you out.

This calculator has been with me now through thick and thin in everything that I have done so far. Purchased around 4-5 years ago, this reliable workhorse has helped me in GCSE, additional, AS and A2 maths. This version comes without the solar panel but actually that doesn't work that well and I find my calculator lasts just as long as a friends who has a solar panel (I have only replaced the battery twice).

---Features---The main reason that I like this calculator so much is because of it displaying fractions as actual fractions. This 'natural display' as Casio call it, has made inputting equations and reading off answers much simpler and reduced errors as you don't need loads of brackets to separate divisions. As for the rest of the calculator it has everything needed for someone to complete their further mathematics A level and actually the first few years of an engineering degree (I am only upgrading now as I am somewhat lazy and have found a calculator that will integrate for me).

This calculator can perform trigonometry, statistics and show in radians, degrees or gradians. Personally for statistics and some other maths exams I found it easier to also have a graphical calculator by my side for help with drawing graphs and inputting statistics into tables for finding variance or similar problems. However this calculator can perform statistics for you but just not as clearly and with a little more button pressing.

Another couple of handy features that I feel are worth a mention are the replay buttons that allow you to look through your calculation history so it saves you typing out the same calculation again and also allows for editing of calculations. The memory storage buttons are also the easiest to use that I have ever seen on a calculator. This product allows for 7 answers, numbers or calculatiosn to be stored at once and it is simple to recall or overwrite these.

---Ease of Use---For exams or everyday use this calculator a great choice with a large clear screen and good processing power so that it hardly ever lags and you can input values quickly in a mad hurry to finish before time runs out. The buttons are fairly large so even big fingers can use them and they always fire when pressed so that you don't miss a value out accidentally and wonder why your answer is wrong. The layout of the buttons is also very efficient and after a while you realise how similar functions are grouped together nicely and you start to remember where buttons are without looking at the calculator, it's that intuitive.

---Aesthetics---Admittedly not the main basis of what makes a calculator good but yes this sadly does affect sales. This calculator has now been superseded by a newer and more stylish design but actually I find that it is still a very pleasant calculator to use and look at. The finish is blue grey plastic with colour coded buttons and functions so that it is clear where everything is.

---Overall---This calculator is very good and comes with some easy to understand instructions (though you probably know the best way to learn a calculator is to use it repeatedly, personally i becamee familiar in just a few minutes due to its simplicity) and a sturdy lid to keep the product safe. Over time my calculator has developed a few scratches and pen marks but has not broken and continues to work perfectly like the day it was bought. A great buy for a decent and simple yet powerful calculator that is actually very cheap and does everything you need.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Perfect for GCSE/A Level Maths

You can't go wrong with a Casio calculator. Sturdy and easy to use, they are an essential for any GCSE/A Level Maths user. I will not go so far as to say it's suitable for university, as I don't do a Maths Degree, and don't know if this scientific calculator has all the functions that might be required. I think this is something of an old model now, having been released in 2006, but Amazon still has them in stock, and so this particular model seems to be still going strong. Although I don't think I'll have a use for the likes of the 'log' function ever again, the calculator still serves me well in terms of keeping track of budgeting/my accounts etc. and I much prefer using it to any computer/mobile phone substitute.

There are many features to this calculator, made even more plentiful by the 'shift' and 'alpha' buttons at the top left hand of the keypad, which help to save space on the keypad by making most of the buttons multifunctional. So, for example, the 'cos' button become 'cos-1' when 'shift' is pressed first. Answers to equations are first shown in fraction format, however the button, 'S<->D' allows you to view the answer as a decimal answer. What I particularly like is the ability to use the navigational pad (top middle of the calculator) to navigate your way through an equation you have just entered and change something in the equation. This is particularly useful if you have a really long equation - it saves you typing it all out again! Also, pressing the 'up' button on the navigational pad will allow you to review all the equations you have entered on the calculator up to that point, although pressing 'AC' will clear the memory and you will therefore lose this ability.

The calculator comes with a case to protect the screen and buttons from damage, which will inevitably lengthen its life. Although this particular calculator does not come with a solar powered panel (those calculators were more expensive and I was being tight with my money), the manufacturer claims that the calculator has 17,000 hours of battery life, equating to 708 days of non-stop calculator use. I hardly think anyone would use their calculator to this extent, and so you can be sure that it the battery will last for a considerably long time. Additionally, the calculator comes with an automatic switch-off feature, and so if it is idle for about 15 minutes or so, it will turn itself off, thus prolonging the battery's life even further.

Simple in design, it is a lightweight 110g and sits nicely in your hand. The buttons are soft, and do not stick when you press them. I think I paid somewhere in the region of £8-£9 about 2/3 years ago for mine, but it is selling for £5.99 on Amazon. All in all, a reliable calculator to get you through those pesky A Levels!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

totally reccomended

I have had a few of these calculators over my time and I've used them for GCSEs, A Levels, University, at home (for working out where my money's gone!) and I also use this model at work too. It is an integral part of the Casio range and compared to the rest of the range, I think this model sits in the middle both in terms of price and in terms of functionality.

This model is not unlike others which Casio offer and it looks similar to many of them. It is a really slim line calculator and it comes with a slide off lid. I have lost a few of the lids over the years as you aren't often allowed to take this part into school exams and once these things get separated, they often never re-unite! Printed on the sticker of the lid are instructions of things to do with the calculator including how to use the memory function etc. Because the model is so slim, I find it easily fits into my pocket, handbag or school bag and this I think is a really good feature.

This model is not a graphic calculator but it is a scientific calculator. This means it is allowed for school etc exams, and also, it keeps it simple and is not too baffling. It has functions for trigonometry and mathsy things on a similar level to this and I have never found the need for more functions (but then, I hated graphs and never did further maths!)

The many many buttons on this calculator are well labelled and it is easy to pick one of these up with no prior experience of using this model and learn how to use it. The only thing which flummoxed me was the conversion between fractions and decimals. Turns out all you need to do is press S&#61664;D and it does it (and you can also go back the other way).

I often use this calculator at home when I am working out bills and budgets etc. I think it is a very important piece of office-ware and it is sooo useful!

The screen size of this is quite small (approx 2cm by 6cm) but it doesn't feel small as it is perfectly adequate. The numbers are easy to see and you can do things like 2 line fractions really easily.

The version I have currently is not solar powered its battery powered and I think I bought it because I was so petrified that my calc would stop working mid-exam but I think you can also get this in solar powered format. The battery I have in mine has never been changed and the calculator is still going strong and I've been using this one for a few years.

I think this calculator is really really versatile and I definitely recommend it. I think it is so multi-purpose and easy to use that (providing you don't lose them like I have); buying this for someone aged about 11 will set them up for ages.

I have re-bought this model when my previous ones have got mis-placed which I think shows how much I like it (I recommend it to myself!). They only cost about £7 and are widely available (from places like Amazon, WH Smith, Tesco etc) but shop around because they can cost more. I think this is good value and I am happy to pay this for a brilliantly useful and reliable tool.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A must have for any students

I've owned the Casio FX-83ES for as long as I can remember. I actually own the solar panel version but in principal it is the same calculator. The FX-83 has served me through my GCSE's, A-Levels and through my first 3 years of university and unless something drastically changes it will be there throughout my fourth and final year of university.

There are numerous reasons why I've stuck by this calculator for so long. In short; it has a fine balance between simplicity and ease of use but also offering more complex advanced abilities to those who study more difficult topics. The calculator comes packaged with a handy manual but for anyone who regularly uses a calculator knows that the best way to understand one is to use it repeatedly. Within minutes of first using it I was able to accomplish everything I needed.

The replay function is very handy and lets you work back through a calculation if something went wrong. It stores at least 10 of your previous commands (Without you having to save them) so you can always flick back to see what you've done in the past. The calculator comes equipped with 7 memory slots which should be more than enough for students. The calculator naturally expresses the answer in either fraction or square root form which means the accuracy is always of the highest order. I know a lot of people don't like this; they much prefer the answer as 31.34848 for example. However the press of one button will change the answer from exact form to a regular number.

The calculator itself looks pretty snazzy. I know calculators aren't exactly a fashion trend but comparing this to other calculators out there it looks modern and slick. There are some horribly retro looking ones out there which make them look like a brick. This one is slim and lightweight and the sliding cover doesn't stick. The dark background and buttons is also much nicer than the light coloured ones which normally have bright green/pink buttons.

The buttons are cleverly colour coded for ease of use. Cancel/delete are red whilst all the options/menu/control buttons are in blue. The numbers and basic functions (Add, subtract etc) are in dark black whilst more advanced functions (Trigonometry, log, square root etc) are smaller and in a dark shade of blue. This makes finding the right button a doddle. The buttons are clearly labelled including their shift/alpha alternatives.

It's also worth mentioning that these labels don't fade. I've had my current calculator for about 5 years and none of the paint work has come off or scratched. As a device it is generally very robust. There are no signs of wear and tear. None of the plastic has been damaged or started to crack. Often the case begins to show signs of heavy use but the FX-83ES is strong and can withstand a bit of a beating. It's a similar story for the battery life. I have mentioned that mine is the version with the solar panels however I doubt they add that much extra life. The battery has yet to fail in over 5 years of use. At school I studied Physics, Maths and Further Maths and I've gone onto to study Engineering at University so as you can imagine I've spent a fair few hours using this calculator! I always carry a back up for exams but so far there's been no need for it

Having studied the subjects mentioned I've needed a high quality calculator with a lot of functions and so far the FX-83ES has yet to fail me. Whether its advanced trigonometry (Sinh, cosh etc), logarithmic equations or working in radians the calculator has been an absolute breeze to use. Not once have I needed a more advanced calculator. The FX-83ES isn't a graphic calculator which is probably it's only set back however a graphic calculator is only realistically by a small group of people. What's best about this calculator is it meets the legal requirements for GCSE, A Level and University exams. The laws for what you can and can't take into an exam are becoming increasingly finicky but the FX-83ES meets all the requirements meaning exams are just that little bit easier with one of these by your side.

So in summary it is a very useful calculator that is very easy to use. It is appropriate for school students as well as University students. The battery life is huge so buying just the one could last you 5-6 years. It's very accurate and exact but not too daunting and scary for younger children who want a simple answer. And for those who like to muck about on a calculator you can write any letter in the alphabet apart from T or V (Don't deny it, we all have before at some point!)

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

An excellent calculator for anybody

This excellent calculator let me pass my IGCSE examinations in Higher Mathematics with ease. It is well built, great value for money and works perfectly and reliably. The key layout is intuitive and everything that you need regularly is easily accessible, whilst buttons with a less important function are accessed using the handy 'shift' key which changes most of the buttons action. I am not amazed by the battery life, which seems to be around 1 year, and I bought another one as I didn't realise that you can in fact change it, however the fact that I bought another identical calculator shows me that I have almost become attached to this damn thing!! It performs calculations incredibly quickly and I am impressed as the longest time I've ever seen it take to work out pie mulitplied by itself 99 times is around 1.5 seconds (This thing certainly has a quick brain!). It also comes with a handy cover which protects it in travel, which was a life saver as just before I went into an exam, I dropped the thing, and without the included cover, would have been in quite a predicament! Overall, I would recommend this calculator for anyone who is taking examinations or needs a good, home calculator!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

See Review

I bought this calculator a fair while ago now- it must be about three years as I bought it for the start of my GCSEs as it was recommended as a good calculator for this stage of mathematics.I think I paid around £12 at WHSmith for this calculator but I have heard that you can get it very cheap on the internet- I even heard of a friend that got it for £3 at some place on the world wide web! (Possibly ebay?)

This product is very compact and thin which makes it great for just slipping into your school bag and it has a slide on case which protects the screen..although I have actually lost this as you aren't allowed to take the case into official examinations in case you write some sort of equation on them or something? And I have misplaced it since then.The buttons on the calculator are very easy to use, you don't need to press them too hard or stab at them to get them to work which is always a positive and they don't accidently press when you only touch them lightly which is also a good thing. The button faces are actually very ergonomic as your finger seems to fit onto them very nicely and they have a sort of 'soft touch' feel to them. The buttons themselves are mainly black or navy with bold white writing which are easily readable which is useful.

This calculator can carry out all the tasks that you will need for a GCSE Maths exam including standard form ( the X 10 to the power of x button) and basic trigonometry questions involving cos, tan and sin and also the inverse of these functions! Another REALLY great feature which is available on this calculator and not on some other similar models is the fact that you can easily convert decimals to fractions and vice versa by using the (S to D) button. This is so useful in exams and means that you don't have to remember what your fractions are in decimal forms (at least not for the calculator paper anyway...)I reckon this calculator is pretty robust as I am quite rubbish at looking after my possessions and this is always rattling around in my bag and hasn't broken as of yet. However my brother also has one and has managed to break his screen by stabbing it with a compass... so as long as you don't do something stupid like that I am sure it will be fine!

All in all, this is a brilliant calculator for pre GCSE and GCSE maths as it includes everything you will need. If you are planning on going on to further level maths in A level or similar then I would recommend also getting a more complex (and unfortunately a lot more expensive) graphical calculator as there will be some useful functions on these type of calculators (like solving quadratic equation and drawing out graph transformations etc.) that you cannot do on the Casio fx-83EX. But even now, at university, i still keep this calculator as it is so easy to use and has useful functions that you sometimes don't even get on the very expensive calculators!I would definitely recommend this product!

Another last note is to say that to be honest, you don't even need to bother with the instruction manual as it is so simple to use and it is a commonly used calculator in schools so the teachers are bound to know how to do everything!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Great for price, go for it

This is a great calculator for GCSE and A-LEVEL (and also some degree courses). It does everything you need it to and it is exam regulation as well. The 'natural display' is much better than the old fx -85s because fractions are laid out much better and other long mathematical arithmetic is easy to lay out and understand. The s <=> d function is a great way of changing between fractions and decimal numbers in the answer. The calculator will also display any answer that is an integer multiple of pie, with pie in the answer so the number is exact. Other great simple to use functions are the x to the x function, e to the x function and other log functions all work well. The calculator also has an nCr function to find any given row of Pascal's triangle. This is useful for both engineers and mathematicians alike. For those looking for a calculator for their degree course: this one is approved by my university for exam use. I would however consider buying one that can deal with complex numbers as these become ever more important the more advanced the maths you are doing.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A fantastic calculator- perfect for school!!

I've owned this calculator for several years now. I used it all through secondary school and college. At the start of Year 7 / Year 8 I didn't realise the full potential of the calculator as some of the functions were too complicated for me to understand, but having done maths and further maths at college I have experimented with most of the functions on it - and there are very few things it can't do! I can't emphasise how useful the natural display feature is - this means it can show rational and surd numbers in their respective forms, rather than a long decimal answer (although this can be displayed by pushing S<>D). This has greatly helped calculate exact answers and saves valuble revision time by not having to remember the sin/cos/tan of an angle in surd form. When using it in stat mode it is exceptionally easy to use (compared to rival calculators) which really helps in an exam. The battery life is ok - lasting about a year of everyday school use. I would recommend this calculator to anyone - most useful school thing I ever bought!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Recommended!

When my daughter moved from primary to secondary school, we were told she needed a scientific calculator. Not knowing which brand was the best, or what to look for in a scientific calculator, we just went down to Tesco and picked one off the shelf. She began using the Casio FX 83 ES at the beginning of year 7, and is now going into year 11 - so it has lasted five years so far.

They cost from around £5 - £8, depending on where you buy it from, which I consider very good value. They can be found in supermarkets (Asda, Tesco), stationery shops (WHSmiths), ect.

The calculator comes with a hard cover to protect it and prevent scratches on the screen, which slots nicely onto the back of the calculator when not in use. The cover also has some instructions on how to perform basic operations, such as fractions and surds.

With 249 functions (164 scientific), this calculator is perfect for doing harder and more complicated sums that a normal calculator just can't do (such as square roots and powers). It weighs 110 grams, so is very easy to carry around with you in school or work. Its 'Natural Textbook Display' feature means the calculator screen looks just like a maths textbook. The calculator automatically turns itself off it has not been used for a few minutes.

My daughter had a couple of problems with the buttons not working (ie she would press them and nothing would come up on the screen), but this normal resolved itself after a few minutes - although it would be pretty annoying if this happened during a test.

Other than that, I had no complaints about this calculator. Simple, cheap and light, it is perfect for secondary school and Key Stage 3, GCSE and A level exams, work or just adding bills up at home.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A Great Calculator for anyone, particularly GCSE and A level Students

If your doing GCSE or A Level maths or science this is the calculator you need.

In the description on dooyoo, it says "Scientific Calculator with 249 functions" now in most cases this means that there are maybe 50 functions that are useful. But this case the designers have decided to focus on what is actually needed.

I have been using this calculator since the beginning of year 8 and since then I haven't had a problem with it. The display is as simple as can be and it has plenty of memory slots for GCSE and A level.

The battery last forever, since I got it I have changed it once.

It can show both fractions and decimal and switch between the two at the touch of a button. It has an easy to use interface and if you make a mistake it is easy to go back and find it.

The only down side to it is that it doesn't draw graphs. But then the cheapest calculator that they let into an exam that does (That I have found) is more than eight times the price listed here. Instead it can be used to compute a table which can be used to plot a graph by hand.

All in all this is a brilliant calculator, I would recommend it to anyone doing maths or science at GCSE or A level. It is even great for Further maths though for that it is a good idea to get a graphic calculator as well.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Great calculator

I've used this calculator for many years and it's really handy. I'm currently doing A Level maths and it's perfect, it's got everything you could ever need and it's so simple to use. It's got table functions, displays as a fraction and as a root so you can have things in any form. It's really useful for whatever level of maths you are doing whether it's SAT's, GCSE or A Level and even for work or just around the house! It couldn't be easier, it even has a table function which comes in very handy at a level. The battery lasts for an awful long time and it's extremely reliable. Also available with a solar panel just for extra energy saving. Instruction leaflet is very handy and tells you all the things you need to know how to do at high levels of maths. It's another really good calcualtor from casio, just like all their others!